ForLaw Me

Mr. Chew's brother, CKM, passed away due to COVID-19. Little did he know that his late brother had left a will, naming him as the sole heir to his estate. However, things took a dramatic turn when Mr. Chew discovered that his elder sister, CYL, had filed a probate application in court using another will, allegedly in her possession. This new will, which excluded Mr. Chew, made CYL the sole beneficiary. Determined to claim what rightfully belongs to him, Mr. Chew appointed a lawyer to thwart CYL's cunning plan. The battle for inheritance continues! After CYL's probate application was withdrawn, Mr. Chew's lawyer made a shocking discovery while examining WILL No.2 - CYL's spouse, Mr. D, was one of the witnesses! This clearly contravenes Section 9 of the WILLS ACT 1959 . This revelation prompted Mr. Chew's lawyer to take swift action and file an application to decide the case in point of law. Will justice be served, or will CYL and Mr. D get away with their dece...

 WELL YES! A republication of a defamatory statement is also considered to be defamatory. In the case of YB Hj Khalid bin Abdul Samad v Datuk Aziz bin Isham & Anor [2012] 7 MLJ 301, the High Court quoted Gatley on Libel and Slander (8th Ed), at p 117 which states that "every republication of a libel is a new libel and each publisher is answerable for his act to the same extent as if the calumny originated with him". Accordingly, every repost or share of a defamatory statement is considered a new publication because those who do so are deemed to have approved, endorsed or repeated the same. This position was reiterated in the recent Court of Appeal case of Raja Syahrir bin Abu Bakar & Anor v Manjeet Singh Dhillon and other appeals [2019] MLJU 75. Therefore please be careful with what you share in social media as this can land you in very expensive litigation.

         Answer is: YES Here is a write up on the important criteria to look out for in admitting WhatsApp communication as evidence in court: Firstly, the safest course of action would be to produce the original WhatsApp messages as they appear on the witness’ phone. Secondly, parties may choose to rely on a combination of both screenshots of the messages in question as well as the exported text versions of the conversation, for completeness. Thirdly, parties should make an effort to obtain corroboration of the evidence in the WhatsApp conversation. This may include producing the witness of the other party to the conversation and having them produce their end of the WhatsApp conversation as corroboration. Adducing other relevant and contemporaneous evidence of the matters referred to such WhatsApp conversations is, of course, trite and good practice. Ultimately, what is clear is that WhatsApp evidence should, ideally, not form the linchpin of any party’s case i...

FIRST THINGS FIRST, GET LEGAL ADVICE IMMEDIATELY! Whether you are a business owner and your business is being sued or an individual facing a personal legal dispute. Most important thing to do is to see a Lawyer and seek advise IMMEDIATELY. This is because many people do not know that you only have 14 days from the time you receive a court summons to file something called "appearance". Hence, it is not wise to ignore a court summons. "No the court will not throw out the case against you if you do not attend court or do the necessary" In fact, Judgment in default can be entered. Hence, act fast and please do not delay and wait till the return date to the court which will be stated in most documents. There are things to do even before that. As a lay person you may not know what you should do according to the given Rules and Regulations governing a Court Proceedings.  Seeking professional help will save you and your business from many other troubles which can be a costl...